Clause 8.5.4 Preservation (secrets)

Table of Contents

• Storage
• Handling
• Packaging and Transport
• 8.5.5 Post-delivery Activities
• For auditors:

Have you ever received a package through the post that was clearly marked ‘handle with care’ only to open it and find the contents have been broken? Your first thought is ‘why didn’t the post office observe the ‘handle with care notice’. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure that the post office or parcel delivery service will have written instructions in the form of procedures for the handling and preservation of fragile goods. The problem is, they are often completely ignored and hence we customers receive damaged goods. I wonder if they also have a non-conformance and corrective actions
process?

If you are handling or storing goods/materials that can deteriorate or degrade then there is the possibility that the conformity of products or services could be affected. This clause intends to try and ensure that the integrity of products and services is preserved at all stages of their life cycle.

For the service industry this might involve:

• Maintaining freezer temperatures during the transportation of food.
• Maintaining the temperature of a blood bank store at a hospital.
• Preserving the integrity and security of personal data in a database.
• Monitoring the preservation of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat in a supermarket.
  
  

For the manufacturing industry this might involve:

• Maintaining humidity levels for stored goods.
• Maintaining clean environments for critical products.
• Monitoring acceptable vibrations/noise levels for environments.
• Preserving the security of outputs during various stages of production.
  
  

Depending on your organisational context, it could be necessary to consider preservation methods for many different components during various stages of production and assembly. In manufacturing, there may be certain components that are susceptible to the effects of humidity and will cause corrosion, even on a micro-level. In service industries, it might be necessary to preserve the integrity of components during, and post-cleaning or service maintenance procedures. ISO 9002:2015 mentions 3-stages of output where preservation must be considered; storage, handling and transportation.

Storage

Most smart organisations avoid having to store goods for any length of time for various reasons. For food production and handling, the shortest time between food production and final use by the customer is the ultimate goal. Having food items stored in a warehouse or on a shelf for more time than is necessary results in wastage. This is the reason for ‘use by’ and ‘sell-by dates on food labelling. The same applies to any goods that can deteriorate over time such as drugs and chemicals etc. In these industries, strong audit procedures that contribute to the continual improvements process are required. Depending on the nature of the goods stored, there are certain factors to consider such as:

• Location; could the storage area be affected by the weather including overheating, humidity, lightning or floods?
• Security and access; is the storage area secure, does it need to be?
• Pests; would vermin control be an issue?
• Damage protection; is the area vulnerable to damage from reversing vehicles or forklift trucks?
• Monitoring; does the area require the use of CCTV, humidity control, vibration or the effects of electrostatic charge, and how will you monitor this?
  
  

Handling

There are many products where the physical handling during production, storage and transportation could be critical to the integrity of the product. Food items are an obvious category that must not be touched by human hands as are drugs and vaccines. Certain production environments are known as ‘clean rooms’. They are to be maintained as being completely dust-free environments and free of all airborne contamination. I’ve conducted many audits within these types of environments and have been quite uncomfortable when conducting the audit in a full hazmat suit with RPE. The recent Covid pandemic required hospital staff to work long shifts in similar protection. The handling controls required will vary greatly depending on the nature of the product or service industry you operate in, but here are a few handling items to consider:

• Gloved requirements
• Hazmat (or similar) suit protection
• RPE requirements
• Foot protection requirements
• Equipment requirements for moving goods
• Inspection requirements for equipment
• Hygiene requirements
• Restrictions such as dropping fragile goods
• Labelling of fragile goods
• Manual handling training for operatives
• Security issues while handling goods
  
  

Packaging and Transport

I ordered some playing cards off amazon last week, they arrived packaged in a box that measured approximately 2x1ft. I’m sure that scenario sounds familiar to you if you are an Amazon customer. It seemed that there was a complete redundancy in the concept of the correct package to match the size of goods and also no thought to the wastage of packaging materials. Choosing the correct package size and material type promotes efficiency and cost savings. The purpose of packaging is the preservation of the contents and that the package reaches the correct destination. You might have to go through some trial and error testing before you arrive at the correct package design, and this should involve communication with the customer and your chosen delivery service. After completion, be sure to update your management system and train the process out with a training course. If you get this wrong, there is the risk of damage or loss of goods. Packaging and transport requirements can vary, but here are some things to consider:

• Outer material type; hard casing such as plastic or a softer material such as cardboard etc.
• Inner material type; bubble wrap, foam particles or soft paper etc.
• Identification; labels for the destination, warning labels for hazardous content and ‘handle with care’ type labels etc.
• Inspection labels; indicate that the product was inspected before release.
• Consignment notes; further information detailing the contents of the package for shipping purposes.
• User information; concerning the correct recycling and disposal of the packaging materials.
• Transport; special identifiers are required by the transport service supplier.
• In transit; instructions for temperature and/or humidity control during transport.
  
  

https://isotraining.uk/8-5-2-identification-and-traceability-revealed/ The documentation to support the packaging and transport of goods is related to the requirements for identification and traceability as discussed in clause 8.5.3. It would be quite foolhardy not to retain records of packaging and transport details. Records such as these will be essential should goods get damaged or lost during transit. Most systems are barcode-scanned and automated with the resulting data being held electronically in a database. The requirements for preservation also apply to the integrity of data and so you are wise to ensure that you have the data secured, protected from illegal access and backed up.

8.5.5 Post-delivery Activities

Customer retention is a book all of its own and entire industries try to cater for the subject. Once you have won the battle of gaining a new customer the fight continues to retain them for future sales. Post-deliver activities could be referred to by a more common name; ‘after-sales service’. By implementing a strong and effective after-sales service process you will be strengthening the bond between you and your customers. This clause works in tandem with clause 5.1.2 (c) Customer Focus. In that clause you are required to that customer satisfaction is maintained. You can achieve this with your post-delivery activities. ISO 9001:2015 requires that you consider the following factors:

1. Statutory and regulatory requirements; in Europe, this would include statutory product guarantees, rights to return goods if faulty and a ‘cooling off’ period for goods purchased online. There may also be laws concerning the recycling and disposal of goods such as those containing hazardous substances such as lead, CFCs and radiated materials etc.
   
   
2. Undesired Consequences; you might be selling goods that pose a danger if they are not used or stored correctly. In this scenario, your post-delivery activities could include training provision. For example, high-pressure LPG bottles have to be stored according to regulatory requirements and you might offer free training upon delivery that explains the regulations to the customer.
   
   
3. Life cycle; Certain goods might change or become unstable over time and require you to visit the customer and offer inspection or recalibrations services. You might offer a free collection and disposal service when the customer orders a new product from you such as a carpet or fridge etc.
   
   
4. Customer requirements; if the sale of contract for the new TV that the customer has purchased includes the stipulation that you ‘tune in’ the TV on delivery, then make sure you do it. Other examples might be a free ‘first-service’ included with a car sale, a free construction of furniture or free breakdown and maintenance of a new gas boiler etc.
   
   
5. Customer feedback; includes both positive and negative feedback. A customer might provide positive feedback about the use of a product or service in ways that are unexpected and results in an expansion of the product or service use. Alternatively, negative feedback might highlight user ’destruction testing’ that your product/service testing processes failed to identify. This requirement works closely with clause 8.2.1 (c) Obtaining customer feedback.
   
   

Post-delivery activities are essential if they are written into the terms of a contract. They might also be required from a legal perspective. Ultimately, your post-delivery activities are a chance for you to differentiate your organisation from that of competitors. Something as simple as an after-sales telephone call, a thank you card or even a bunch of flowers is an opportunity to stand out in a competitive market. The time spent developing your post-delivery process will be positively rewarded if you get it right, on time – every time!

For auditors:

• Check for a process that deals with the preservations of goods and services.
• Check for a process that deals with post-delivery activities.
• Check the processes have been communicated and trained out.
• Check roles, responsibilities and authorities concerning the processes.
• Check that statutory, regulatory and customer requirements are being met.
• Check the corrective actions log for non-conformance concerning the processes and how they were corrected.
• Check if customer feedback is being captured and used in the continual improvement process.
  
  

Other questions I will answer in future articles:

• What is product preservation?
• What is service preservation?
• What is control of production and service provision?
• How do you ensure good product preservation?
• How do we manage our post-delivery activities?
• Are post-delivery activities a legal requirement?
• What happens when post-delivery activities go wrong?